Saving You
by AnnaHiwatari
Summary: Rainy autumn night... A cruel, runaway and wanted assassin barely gets to escape the imperial guards. The only safe place he found was an old building that seemed like a shrine. A golden glowing figure reached out for him but that's just the about the last thing he sees... Medieval Japan, Samurai, swords and... spirits. Zoro x Yokai Kitsune!Sanji (later chapters rated higher)
1. Chapter 1

_My first** ZoSan fanfiction**! Go easy on me, please..._

_This chapter is kind like an introduction to the story so it's kind of short and nothing much happens ^^"_

_please tell me what you think in reviews ~_

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Cold autumn rain fell over the Samurai Country. Big raindrops hit the ground with unbelievable force. That strong rain hit the poor tiles on the roofs of wooden houses, creating a loud sound, like they were going to pierce through. There wasn't any wind but rain alone was making the weather cold enough. The sound of rain took over every other sound in the night. The moon was the only light that shone upon the country, making its way through the branches that already lost their leaves. The only other sound, than the falling rain which could be heard in that cold night was a sound of footsteps splashing over the puddles and swampy ground.

The sharp sound of the whistle mixed with the rain and could barely be heard. A young man, about 19 years of age, ran through the woods, barely seeing where he was going. He held onto his rare katana, running as fast as he could, gasping for bits of cold air. The big wound on his chest re-opened, making it even harder for him to run. He still heard a large amount of footsteps coming closer after him, with the whistle fizzling every 30 seconds. Young man grabbed his blood-soaked kimono on his chest, trying to endure the pain but he also had his limits. He needed rest and a dry place, he needed medical help and food, but he just couldn't find any place to hide. He was being chased by the imperial police guards that whole day and his leg muscles hurt bad, mud making it harder. He was cold, wounded, tired, hungry and whatnot. Only his sheer will and his goal kept him alive and running.

He had no orientation in the rainy night, running through the thick forest. Three days of starvation effected his body, making it weaker than usual and the hard pouring rain only made it worse – he barely saw where he was running, his vision blurry both from hunger and the water of the rain.

The boy panted heavily as he stopped and leaned to a tree beside him. But, his break barely lasted for 5 seconds as the whistle was blown again and splashing footsteps closing by.

'_I need to get out of the woods. I can't outrun them forever. I need a place to hide._', he thought, gripping the bloody fabric on his chest. His wound was bleeding terribly fast, threatening his life. The young swordsman was in grave danger – if he looses too much blood he could die. But the muddy woods wasn't a place for him to die and nor was the imperial prison. He couldn't afford to die before achieving his life goal.

Somehow, after more hopeless running, swordsman was out of the woods and on the open ground, the full moon clearly shining on him. He looked around but couldn't see any safe place to go to – it was just more trees, more of the maze woods. He suddenly felt an unusual thing, which made him turn his head to the right. Before his eyes, on the full moon shining over him, from the shadows appeared an old runny building. It was barely noticeable, almost like it came from the ground, merging with the environment. The thing he felt was coming from that building; it was something like a presence but nothing human-like.

The familiar whistle broke his thoughts and without any more thinking, the swordsman went towards the building which resembled an old shrine. The rundown building was his only hope of survival, his only safe place where he could hide from the pursuing imperial guards. He was only hoping that it wasn't just another hallucination due hunger and fatigue. He dragged his feet as fast as he could and thankfully for him, the shrine was there, standing solid and hard to the touch. Still it gave out a feeling of illusion, like it wasn't there.

The wounded young man slid the wooden door and barely went inside, pain spreading through his body within the second he laid down on the wooden floor. He could barely think over the pain but the only thing he was hoping was for the guards not to find him, now that he was at his limit and couldn't move anymore. He was panting heavily but as soon as he heard the footsteps approaching, running and splashing through the mud, he closed his mouth with his one hand, muting his voice.

Heavy rain hit the old tiles on the shrine's roof, creating a loud sound, making it harder for the wounded man to focus on his hearing. The young man just wanted for the guards to pass and not notice the shrine he was hiding in. He heard the whistle one more time and after that came footsteps that slowly silenced, meaning that the guards continued to run through the forest. The only sound that was left was the sound of the heavy autumn rain, hitting the concrete tiles on the roof.

The swordsman could now rest assure and breathe freely. But just that breathing was hard for him – the chest wound ached, still bleeding little by little. He was thankful that he found a safe place but… his strength was decreasing and he was starting to feel worse by the second. His life was hanging on a thin string. He could feel the temperature of his body rising, fever taking over.

'_Is this really… the end?_', he thought, unable to move because of the sharp pain dominating his body. He tried to stay strong and think of survival, but the pain was stronger.

A little sparkle of light came from the swordsman's right side. He managed to turn his head towards the source. It looked like a light of a candle, floating in midair. The man's vision was more blurry than before so all he saw was a little light, floating in the dark, like a firefly.

The young swordsman only panted, his eyes getting teary as a result of the fever. He didn't know whatever the light he saw was real or was he already a goner. He already discarded his life when he set a goal to himself so the part of him thought that the blurry thing he sees is just a part of the afterlife. However, the small candle-like light expanded and took shape. To the ill man, it seemed like a human but on the other hand it didn't – it didn't have that human-like presence he knew of.

The glowing golden form came closer to the poor man and expanded an arm. The figure reached towards the swordsman but he couldn't lift his hand. He only held his katana, which he swore to never abandon, barely blinking to the light. He couldn't handle it anymore – the overall pain took over, making the man lose consciousness. He was ready to accept his fate.

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_x To be continued x_


	2. Chapter 2

_Second chapter already here! I decided not to do the "summary from the previous chapter", like I did for my old stories because it kinda annoys me and I doubt that someone reads it XD_

_So, here's the chapter 2! enjoy and review~ ^^_

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_There's nothing but clouds – all white and calming. He felt his body was light like a feather, floating over those soft clouds. He didn't know why he was floating. Maybe that was the end of the young swordsman. It must be that – his mind was at peace, he could barely hear or feel his heartbeats and his body never felt calmer. His breathing was light, barely could be heard. He opened his eyes and let out a sigh, calming his soul even more. _

_Looking up was nothing, just pure whiteness; just clouds, moving slowly and making all the worries drift from the young man. Suddenly, a shining star fell from the clouds, passing the swordsman's face. It was a small, star-shaped snowflake, and one by one, many snowflakes fell from the puffy soft clouds. The swordsman noticed them and turned his head. Snow fell past his face and continued to fall down. He turned around, to face to world below him. He was still up in the clouds but on his thought, they moved away, showing him the big and wide field, slowly becoming white from the falling snow. On that field he saw a person, swinging around something. He quickly realized – it was him! But, it was him from when he was still a little kid, swinging around the bamboo swords, trying to get stronger. The young man smiled at the view, remembering the old days – no matter the weather, whether it was raining and wind blowing like crazy, or was it sunny with no clouds, or if it snowed heavily, he would always go out and practice his swordsmanship to get stronger for the future._

_Snow was clearing up and the field became green with wild flowers appearing here and there. A nice spring breeze blew, making the grass and the leaves rustle. The sight of the beautiful and untouched nature was overwhelming, simply breathtaking._

_The young swordsman that was freely floating in midair came closer to the field, wanting to see his young self, continuously trying some new moves with his wooden sword. Soon, another person came to the field, this time a young girl. She was also wielding a bamboo sword, challenging the little kid to a duel. They fought with pure joy in their eyes. They really enjoyed themselves, making the already grown up swordsman wanting to go back in time and do all of those kiddy stuff again._

_Suddenly, he felt someone grabbing his left hand, making him flinch and look at that person. He looked down and saw that same little girl that was practicing with his young self on the field. She smiled at him, her warm smile wrapping around his heart. He smiled back and held her hand tightly. They looked back at the two kids having a practice match in front of them. The gentle memories flew back to swordsman's mind, making it all nostalgic for him._

_A young girl that was holding his hand poked him gently, making the swordsman look at her again. Her smile widened as she pulled out the white katana behind her back. She let go of swordsman's hand to give him the white katana. He smiled back at her and accepted the gift with both hands, politely and how it should be – full of respect. She kept her smile and stepped away from her friend. The girl waved to the swordsman and started running from him, laughing happily. The young man reached out his hand but his legs couldn't move, he couldn't go after her._

_A sharp and piercing sound came up; making the swordsman shut his eyes and his ears. As soon as the sound muted, he slowly opened his eyes but only to find himself in a dark._

_It was night and he was in a dark room. Outside, a big storm was letting it all out. Thunder was striking and rain hit the wooden walls with the hard wind making everything fiercer. The young swordsman quickly recognized where he was – he was standing in the room of the old dojo, where he would practice for hours, not giving in the pain. The night he was just experiencing resembled "that night". As he remembered it clearly and recognized the time and place, the young swordsman shifted his gaze in front of him._

_There, in the center of the dojo was standing a tall black figure. It held a long katana whose blade shone on the full moon moonlight. It was covered in blood which slowly slid and drip off the blade. Swordsman's eyes widen, his breath muted and his heart skipped a beat. He was once again frightened, like he was on "that night", 10 years ago. In front of that black silhouette were two human bodies, lying in a pond of blood. A thunder stuck again, lightening on the horrible scene. Swordsman started shivering in fear, holding onto his friend's dear katana he received as a gift. He recognized the bodies – it was his dear friend, a young girl who always practiced with him, and her father, his dear sensei._

"_Zo…", a girl lifted her head, trying to call out for her best friend. But the boy just stood there, unable to move a bit._

_The assassin with a bloody katana noticed the boy and turned to him. He shook off his katana to get rid of the blood that was on it. The young swordsman took a step back and held the white katana more tightly against him. The assassin was coming closer by the second and the boy couldn't move anymore. His body was swallowed by the fear. The black assassin jumped and in a flash came to the boy, swinging his katana, ready to attack. The blade of the sword shone brightly on the moonlight and in an instant slashed in front of the boy's face._

He opened his eyes, panting heavily. A sharp pain came across his chest, reminding him that the wound was still fresh. Discarding the pain, he tried to sit up, but that only resulted with more pain in his chest. That caustic pain stroke again, making the red stains on the bandages, wrapped around swordsman's chest, to become redder and wider. The swordsman noticed that his wounds were treated, his chest bandaged and that he was in the futon. But, he really didn't have time to worry about those little things. He looked around the room he was in, searching for his treasured belonging.

_'It's not here… It's all empty! Where is it?! Where is it?!'_

His thoughts were screaming but no matter how much he turned and looked around, he saw nothing but a wooden walls and paper door, _shoji_. The young man stood up, pain striking again. His legs felt numb and tired, his whole body hurt so terribly much, he could barely stand it. He had to find it! He had to find his friend's memento! By any means necessary, he couldn't lose it!

He went to the door and slid it swiftly. That move of his left arm sent another instant wave of pain to his chest wound that was coming from his left side of the chest and went across it, all the way to his bottom right side of the stomach.

His panting stopped as his eyes met with the world from the outside the _shoji_ doors. It was a clear sunny day, nothing like that rainy and dark day he was pursued. A light breeze spread across the beautiful garden. Autumn was a season with golden themed colors, with every shade present. The golden to orange leaves were all over the ground and that weak wind barely moved them. The birds that stayed home chirped happily, giving more to the beautiful scenery.

But, the swordsman couldn't enjoy the view forever – he had to find the thing he was looking for! When the pain from his wound calmed down, he continued to walk and search. He ran over the veranda as fast as he could, holding onto the wall, but the pain got back fast, making the swordsman fall on his knees. It was a great fall, making a loud sound and silencing the birds in the trees.

The swordsman started panting again, trying to bear with the pain. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

'_I can't stop now… I must… I must find it!'_

"Tch…", came above the wounded swordsman, followed with a long sigh. The young man opened his eyes to look up but he still couldn't see it all clearly; his vision was still blurry, his strength still didn't come back.

"You wake up and start running already? What kind of an idiot are you?! I can't carry you to bed again, you know.", the same voice spoke up again. All that swordsman saw was someone wearing a kimono… with golden hair? But, he couldn't keep it up anymore - he fainted on the unknown veranda, on the sunny autumn day.

"Damn… this guy is such a pain…", the mysterious golden-haired being said, looking down at the stubborn man in front of his feet.

…

The same situation, the same dream… the same ending – the blade flashed in front of his face, making him wake up out of that nightmare with sweat build up on his forehead. When he woke up this time, the pain in his chest wasn't so harsh; it hurt less than that other time. He also noticed that the bandages were replaced with the new ones, wrapped more tightly. He sat up, looking around the room – he was in the same _futon_, sleeping on the same _tatami_ floor, in the same empty room with paper _shoji_ door. And that reminded him! He needs to look for his treasure! He closed his kimono and slid the door to the side.

Wind blew directly in his face, making him breathe in some of that fresh air. It was, again, a nice and sunny autumn day with birds chirping and chilly wind blowing, blowing away the golden, red and orange maple leaves. The scenery was absolutely amazing but… There was something else on that veranda… not something, but someone!

Sitting on the edge of the veranda was a human-like figure, dressed in a beautiful very light orange kimono with orange to golden ginko leaves printed on it. The leaves seemed more like they were painted on that kimono, using watercolor paint and delicate brushes. The hair of the being was golden, making him look really magical. That person was like painted on the picture, having such a beautiful hair, wearing that beautiful attire, surrounded by a beautiful nature, beautiful colors of the autumn.

"A human?", with still slightly blurry vision, a swordsman said to himself but the person heard him as his ears wiggled to the sound of other voice.

The person let out a puff of smoke and turned his head to look at the swordsman. He was holding a red pipe with golden flowers prints on it and golden beginning and the end. He frowned at the sight of the young swordsman but still didn't move. His other two features made the swordsman change his mind, widen his eyes and slightly open his mouth.

"A fox?", the swordsman said with a same tone as before after looking closely at the person, his vision getting better. A sound of small bells ringing filled his ears, wind blowing in his face...

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_x To be continued x_


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry for the wait! Here's chapter 3! enjoy~_

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A big golden star was placed high in the clear day sky, radiating on the eastern country that was in the midst of the windy autumn season. That autumn sun didn't produce too much heat, but that was just enough for the autumn loving creatures to enjoy its beauty and warmth. The lances of sunlight fought through the leaves that swayed on the breeze, bathing the ground below. The forest seemed like a treasure chest, full of golden medallions, with ruby gems here and there. The trees wore their lovely orange and red capes proudly before they take them off and welcome winter.

Birds' chirp mixed with the chilly wind howling through the branches of the tall trees. The sounds were mixing, creating an unusual tune that was still pleasant to the heart. Other small animals would run over the fallen leaves from time to time, quickly going back to their warm and cozy homes.

Both the scenery and the sounds craved into swordsman's memory. He saw a complete different world when he opened that thin shoji door. The forest was nothing like he saw by being pursued that day. That whole day, he ran through dead woods which lost all of their leaves and where overall scenery was plain, boring and sad. That day was grey, muddy and horrible and now… he slid the door to a new and magical world. But, what caught his attention more was the person in front of him. That person… that being that resembled a person had two additional features that weren't so human-like. The big fox tail and ears were firmly placed on the person, like they were really the part of him.

The swordsman couldn't believe such thing; it was unnatural and ridiculous. He again heard the wind chimes. He would hear them ringing every couple of second he spent on gazing at the being in front of him. The young man still held the door by the border, kneeling down and just staring front.

The fox-person still looked at the surprised man behind him, his neck starting to hurt from the bending. His eyelids lowered at the sight of that man with a dumb look on his face. Thin trace of smoke was leaving the person's golden pipe and carefully disappearing into the wind. His light orange ginko kimono also followed the wind, swaying peacefully. The person turned his head back and brought the classy pipe back to his lips, enjoying the smoke.

Silence lasted between two men, only sounds of nature filled in the gap, supported with the lovely sound of the chimes. But, the _fuurin_ were nowhere near. Wind chimes were not hanged on the veranda so how could the young swordsman still hear them? The longer he stared at the mysterious person, the more he heard them.

"You finally woke up, huh?", the fox-person said and the bells rang again. The swordsman flinched, surprised at his voice. The person continued admiring the beautiful golden themed garden in front of him, not caring if the man behind him will answer to his question or not. He took another puff of smoke and looked again at the kneeling man behind him. The frown on his face grew slightly bigger but he didn't say anything additional.

"Just who… what are you?", the swordsman finally spoke up, the amazement not leaving his face. However, the fox-person frowned more, clearly insulted by swordsman's question. He griped his pipe, almost breaking it.

"You should first learn how to speak properly before you say anything to me, you filthy human.", the fox stood up; his beautiful kimono straightened, revealing the leaves pattern more clearly, "That kind of a question is really insulting. What kind of an idiot are you, saying that to a person who saved your pitiful life?!", he raised his tone, tilting his head slightly to the side, showing his annoyance. He looked down on the wounded man, not moving from his present spot.

'_He… saved me?_', the swordsman was lost in his own thoughts, unable to get a glimpse of the real situation. On the other side, the fox-person was getting irritated by the second. He just couldn't stand the stupid expression of the man in front of him.

"Tch.", the fox hissed and came to the kneeling man, looking at him with annoyance in his eyes.

"Did you really… save me?", the swordsman asked.

"Are you retarded, deaf or something third? I said that a couple of minutes ago, didn't I?!", the fox yelled.

"Who are you calling—", but the young swordsman never finished – the person standing hit him on the head with a closed fan he reached out of his sleeve. He opened the fan and covered his mouth.

"You are really one annoying creature. There's no one here except for me.", the wind blew again; rustling the person's hair and making his kimono waver to the move of the air. The sound of the chimes filled swordsman's ears again. He looked around but again saw no wind chimes hanged; there was nothing and no one except him and the fox-person on that veranda.

The fox hissed again and hit the careless swordsman on the head once again, this time harder.

"I saved your puny little life and you have nothing to say?! You should bow your head to me, trash! I am far superior being to the lowly human like you!"

That's where the swordsman had it enough! He stood up and came close to the other person's face, ready to fight him anytime.

"What makes a person with a fox tail and ears superior than others? To me, you're just another weirdo, nothing more!", he yelled back but the fox hit him on the head again, bringing him to his knees.

"Learn your place, trash! If it wasn't for me, you would already be 2 meters under. I could have easily left you to bleed out to death! You were badly injured and on verge of death so a bastard like you should just stay silent and list—"

"Ah! That's right! I almost forgot!", the swordsman yelled, holding his head.

"Oi, listen to what I'm saying, bast—"

"Where is it?!", the swordsman jumped, grabbing fox's kimono, bringing him close to his own face. That whole act surprised the other person but after the few moments he hit swordsman's hands off his robe, taking a step back from the fierce man.

"Where is IT?!", the swordsman yelled again, making the birds in the trees fly away.

"Calm down your shitty voice, it's damn annoying."

"Stop screwing with me and answer my question, damn it! Where is it?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I said to stop screwing with me, shithead!", the swordsman raised his voice even more, clenching his fist and throwing an attack towards the fox-person. Blond-haired fox just stepped aside and hit the angry man on the back of his neck, making him lose his balance and fall off the veranda, ending up laying on the dirty ground, face down.

"I told you before: learn how to speak before you say anything to me, you trash. And also, watch your mouth or I'll kill you if you ever address me like that again.", the fox said, covering his mouth with a fan. He put his other hand in the other sleeve, walking away from the man.

"Oi, you're not going anywhere until I get an answer.", the swordsman spoke, getting up from the dirt. The mysterious person stopped and looked at the dirty young man. He brushed the dirt off his face and looked at the fox, frowning big. His eyes became sharper, his gaze filled with nothing but determination.

"I already told you—"

"I know it's somewhere here! You took it!"

The mystical fox just sighed and closed his fan, putting it back in his sleeve.

"Care to explain what you're looking for?"

"My katana!", the swordsman responded quickly, making the other one tilt his head backwards, "I'm looking for a white katana. I'm sure I had it with me all the time. Where is it now?!", he asked again.

"So, it's just that…", the fox sighed again and looked to the side. His eyes shifted to the kneeling and dirty man after few moments of looking at the autumn scenery. He closed his eyes and brought his head back. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. The swordsman watched his every move and waited for an answer. The fox-person took his one hand out of the kimono sleeve and snapped his fingers. Few moments after, swordsman's breath muted and his eyes widen. Behind the fox came his katana… floating in mid air! Actually, it wasn't floating but something that resembled blue flame balls carried it. They brought the white katana and dropped it in the fox's hands.

"Is this what you're looking for, green-head?", the blonde man asked, raising his hands. But the other one just sat on the ground, his mouth slightly open, "Oi, stop daydreaming! I asked you something!"

"Just now… what were those?"

"Huh?!"

"Those blue things… what were they?"

"Eh, you saw me having ears and tail of a fox and you're still shocked about other supernatural things? Are you dense?!", the fox said but got nothing as a response, "Just come and take this thing, I don't have time for stupid explanations.", swordsman blinked, remembering that he asked for his katana. He quickly stood up and came to the other man, taking his treasure back.

_'I'm glad that it's safe… I couldn't afford to lose it… ever!'_

The blond man turned around ready to leave, after making the silly swordsman enough happy.

"Oi, I still have things I want to tell you.", the swordsman said, making the fox-person stop. After the blond turned around, his eyes widen to the sight – before him, a young swordsman was kneeling with his head touching the wooden floor of the veranda.

"What the—"

"Thank you for saving me!", the swordsman yelled, surprising the fox even more, "Also, thank you for guarding my katana, it really means a lot to me.", he said and silence came up. The swordsman was still bowing deeply, showing his respect. A small smile formed on the blond man's lips.

"Hmph, don't fool yourself.", fox said, making the swordsman raise his head, "I just put it away so that you wouldn't try any foolish stuff. But, come to think about it, you couldn't beat me even if you had it with you.", the blond smirked, annoying the kneeling man.

"What did you say?! I could easily beat the crap out of you!", the swordsman shouted, standing up and preparing to fight.

"Yeah, yeah… says the idiot who nearly died on the shrine's threshold.", fox widened his evil grin, opening the fan and covering the half of that smile.

"You wanna go, shitty fox?!", the swordsman put on his own version of a cheeky grin, pulling out the sharp katana slowly.

"Bring it on, bastard!", fox said, rolling up the sleeve on his kimono.

"I'll still beat the shit out of you, even with these injuries."

"Don't worry. Just because you're injured, I'll use less power on you, shithead."

They carried their evil smiles, provoking each other to fight. But, a same blue flame ball interrupted their quarrel, making the blond fox look at it and calming down. He fixed back his kimono and nodded to the fireball.

"We'll stop here. It's time for lunch."

"Eh? I don't understand…"

"I never thought you will. Just put back that sword and go back to your room, we're going to eat.", the fox said with a easy tone, his face being serious. He turned around to walk away but stopped few steps after and turned his head back.

"By the way, name's Sanji.", the blond fox said and the swordsman blinked but smiled soon after.

"I'm Zoro."

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_x To be continued x_


End file.
